The Best Thing
by Oneturtledove
Summary: Cause when I looked into your eyes, And you dared to stare right back, You should've said "Nice to meet you, I'm your other half"


Disclaimer: Peeps to Chris Carter (who really needs to learn how to share) and song to Relient K (who I want to take to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. In my khaki pants.)

A/N: This time I challenged myself. Go figure. When I first heard this song I was like "Hmm, sweet." Then I heard the line... and I was like "Mulder and Scully. MULDER AND SCULLY. **MULDER AND SCULLY! _MULDER AND SCULLLLLLLAAAAAAAYYYY!!!" _**And then I had pilot episode flashbacks. It was great.  


* * *

A wintery sunlight filtered through the windows and stirred him from his deep sleep. He flung his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the sun, but only managed to remind himself of his newest injury. He sighed and sat up a little, trying to get his bearings. He was most certainly not on the couch, and this bed was much too comfortable to be housed in a hotel. Blinking a few times, his eyes focused on the small woman sleeping in the chair next to him.

"Scully," he whispered, reaching over with his good arm to touch her hand. She jumped a little and woke up, staring down at him.

"Good morning," she said finally. He smiled and she ran a hand through her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Why did you sleep in the chair?"

"I was just... I know that sometimes you have a bad reaction to pain killers, and I wanted to be able to check on you during the night."

"Oh, I see. But there is a whole other side on this bed. You could have slept there."

She ignored his comment and stood up from the chair, stretching her abused muscles and joints.

"I'm going to make breakfast. You want something?"

"Nah. I should head home."

"Don't even think about it. You're staying in bed for the whole day."

"What?"

"Remember in the car last night, you told me that your New Years resolution was to listen to me more?"

"I will say anything when I have been given pain killers."

"And apparently you'll do anything too."

He didn't miss the sarcasm in her voice, he just chose not to address it.

"Some breakfast would be good, Scully. Thank you."

She smiled weakly and left the bedroom. He leaned back into her pillows and sighed. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him last night. He wasn't so low that he would blame it on the painkillers or the adrenaline, but he wasn't enough of an idiot to think that Dick Clark had nothing to do with it.

Maybe he could pass it off as a kiss between friends. It had been innocent enough. Long, but nothing earth shattering. It would be a lot easier for him to decipher the meaning if Scully would talk. But it seemed that she was content with being mum for the time being.

He sighed and scratched at the wound on his arm, trying to remember what the doctor had said. Deep laceration, slight muscle damage, but nothing a few days in an immobilizer wouldn't cure. Of course he tended to heal faster than most others, so it might not take too long before he was back to normal.

He listened to Scully rattling around in the kitchen and briefly wondered what she was up to. It was sure to be a full breakfast. He had recuperated on her couch enough times to know that she was of the firm belief that scrambled eggs, bacon and orange juice cured all ills. He had once asked her if she had done a study on this theory, to which she had stolen all his bacon and walked away. Smiling at the memory, his stomach began to growl, reminding him that it had been at least 24 hours since he had last eaten, if not longer.

He stood up from the bed, even though he knew Scully wouldn't approve, and headed into the kitchen. She was standing at the stove, using a ladle to pour pancake batter onto a hot griddle.

"Pancakes too, huh?"

"Gotta start the year off right."

"Guess so."

"It'll be done soon. Go back to bed."

"Can I at least have some coffee?"

She sighed and headed for the freezer.

"I forgot all about coffee."

He crossed the room and stopped her movements before touching her forehead gently.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't usually forget the coffee."

"I'm... tired."

"Right."

"I didn't sleep well in that chair. I'm a little off balance today."

"Uh-huh."

She rolled her eyes as she understood his implication.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, Mulder. I've had better kisses playing spin the bottle."

He would have been hurt had it not been for the blush that was tingeing her cheeks with a vengeance.

"Did any of them make you blush like that?"

"It's hot in here."

"Sure it is."

"I have been cooking, over a hot stove. You'd be flushed too."

"Right."

"Mulder, go back to bed."

He chuckled and wandered back into her room, feeling quite good about himself. He loved cornering her intellectually, but doing it in a situation like this was so much more entertaining. He knew that it didn't hurt her feelings, and he knew she wasn't embarrassed, so he didn't really worry about repercussions.

She came back into the room a few minutes later, carrying a tray of food. There were two plates on it, which was quite possibly the sweetest thing she could have done at that moment.

She placed the tray on his lap, then sat down next to him, kicking her slippers off onto the floor.

"Eat up before it gets cold, Mulder."

He nodded and dug into the pancakes, being careful not to drip syrup down his chin. They ate in silence for a while, stealing off each other's plates until all of the food was gone.

"You could make a guy fat, Scully."

"I've been told."

"Should we talk?" he asked finally.

"About what?"

"Scully."

"I don't know! This was all you, buddy. I claim no responsibility."

"Well if you hadn't been standing there looking so... besides, you kissed back."

"What else was I supposed to do?"

"You could have told me to stop."

"Maybe I didn't want-"

She caught herself before she said what she was thinking, but it was not lost on him. He knew her well.

"You didn't want what, Scully?"

"It doesn't matter. Let's just forget about it."

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous."

"Dangerous."

"Mulder, this is just another thing they can use against us."

"So what?"

"I'm not going to lose you."

"I know you're not."

"But that's what they'll do. They'll separate us. Who knows which avenue they will pick, but more than likely it will end with one of us in a grave. I don't want that, Mulder. I can't handle it."

"Those are excuses. Why won't you let me love you?"

Her eyes fell to her lap and she shook her head.

"It's not that, Mulder."

"Then what is it?"

"I just don't... I can't..."

"You don't love me."

"No, Mulder of course I love you. I do."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't think I'm good enough for you."

"Have you been hitting the sauce?"

She smiled a little and he tipped her chin up gently.

"I love you, Scully. And you love me, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not asking for anything to change, at least not right away. But you're the only person in the world that I can ever be with. And do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're the person who challenges me and encourages me and humbles me and completes me. You keep my feet on the ground, but you let me have my head in the clouds. You listen to me and you trust me. You would never hurt me. You are the part of me that I have been looking for all my life."

Her eyes were flooding with tears and he brushed them away gently.

"I love you, Scully. That will never change, no matter what we are to each other."

Her hands shook as they clamped around his wrists.

"I just don't want it to end badly."

"It won't."

"How do you know?"

"Scully, look at all we've been through. It's only brought us closer. We're stuck together. It's like when you get a bag of those frosted animal cookies and two of them are frosted together. There is no way to get them apart. We're frosted, Scully."

She chuckled and met his eyes again.

"I knew you would tease me about those cookies eventually."

"Well if you didn't eat a bag every two days..."

She sighed a little as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you too, Mulder. And I know that you would never hurt me, but I also know that there are things that are out of our control that could tear us apart. I just want us to be careful, no matter what. You mean more to me than anything and if I lost you..."

"I know. We'll be careful, Scully."

"What does this mean then?"

"What?"

"Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know, Scully. But that's half the adventure. Figuring it out together."

She nodded her agreement before leaning up and kissing him gently.

"Think you're ready for this?"

"Scully, you have no idea."

* * *

_It's been a year  
Filled with problems  
But now you're here  
Almost as if to solve them  
And I can't live in a world without you now_

_All my life  
I've been searching for you  
How did I survive  
In this world before you  
Cause I don't wanna live another day without you now_

_This is the best thing  
The best thing that could be happening  
And I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's  
Happening to you and me_

_All I'm gonna have  
Is all that you can give me  
And I'll give right back  
Everything I have in me  
Cause nothing ever felt as right  
As this does right now_

_I'll go back to before we met  
Try and erase the past  
Try harder to forget cause  
Nothing will ever be as good as here and now_

_**Cause when I looked into your eyes  
And you dared to stare right back  
You should've said "Nice to meet you, I'm your other half"**_

_Always knew  
I'd find someone  
I never dreamt  
It'd be like this  
You've surpassed  
All that I've hoped for (and ever wished)  
And I'm tryin'  
So hard  
With all my heart and mind  
To make your life  
As good as you've made mine_

_The best thing is that it's happening to you and me  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me_

_(The best thing) The best thing that could be happening  
(The best thing) I think you would agree  
The best thing is that it's happening to you and me_


End file.
